A Second Chance
by BelladonnaCailo
Summary: A new face, but there is something more to this boy. Enter Tobias Sparrowhawk, 7th year transfer and potions extraodinare, a boy with many names. Non-compliant with DH
1. Prolouge and Meeting the Headmistress

A Second Chance

Chapter One- Prologue and a Meeting With the Headmistress

By Kalison A.

--

Disclaimer- I do not own this story, all I own is the plot and what may happen to the characters of JK Rowling.

--

Severus Snape had traveled to the far reaches of the Forbidden Forest, in hope of finding solace, a place to escape his guilt. He stumbled into a clearing, different and out of place in the forest, for it had grass blanketing the ground, and a crystal clear pool in the middle of the clearing. He stepped over to the pool, and was preparing to take a drink of the enticing water, to quench his parched throat. He was suddenly startled by the unheralded appearance of a hovering entity, a being that demanded respect while exuding kindness, and hinting with pity.

"Who are you to disturb the pool of Samar'kand?" the being demanded of Snape, with arms and legs crossed, and one eyebrow raised.

Severus felt as though lying would be useless with this entity, and so truthfully replied, "I am a man in search of redemption for his crimes."

"What are your crimes, oh forsaken human?"

"I have killed, for I was cursed with the Unbreakable Vow. I have served the Dark Lord, for the sake of revenge. Then I betrayed the trust of the former Headmaster of yonder school."

"I can give you a second chance at life, from any wished age, or you can stay here as a hermit, never to return to the world of others, until you have given up your old ways. Choose."

"If I choose the former, all my sins will be forgiven, but others will still recognize me, once I get older or if I run into old acquaintances of mine, won't they?" he asked for fear of discovery.

"No, for I shall provide you with an alibi, and no matter what choice you make, the mark shall be removed from your arm. If you so wish it I can alter your appearance as well, to a different hair color and eye as well."

"I wish to be age seventeen again, a transfer student that has gone to an Irish school for the past couple of years. My name, I shall take up my father's first name of Tobias, no one will suspect that, and my last name shall be Sparrowhawk. I think that brown hair and gray eyes shall work. Do you have an owl to send the notice with?"

Their conference lasted only a couple minutes longer, ending with the spirit working his magic. He was transformed into a mischief-making 7th year, with dragon gray eyes that reflect mood, and short cropped brown hair. He was then sent to the borders of the forest, while the owl was simultaneously dispatched.

--

Professor McGonagall was rather surprised to find an owl awaiting her return from the staff meeting that she was just attending. She had recently been informed by her favorite Gryffindors that they would be returning for their last year, only to receive more knowledge that might be helpful to them in the near future. Yet there was a Tyto sitting on her desk. It held out its leg for her to remove the letter, that of which she was willing to oblige, for her Gryffindorian curiosity was getting the better of her. She read it as the owl took off through the open widow to return to Tobias, to whom, the spirit had given him to. She read the letter, and rushed down the stairs, making it in time to the Entrance Hall to meet him just as he stepped over the threshold.

He strode up to the Professor making a deep jester bow. He straightened, mischief twinkling in his eyes, as he prepared to introduce himself to her, as she tried to hide a smile, for he had also decided to be civil to all, instead of sneering at them as he had done in the past. But he was saved the effort.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress. I was just informed of your circumstances, Mr. Sparrowhawk. I am truly sorry about the tragedy that befell your parents and your school. Now, I've asked Hagrid to go retrieve and supplies you may need, but he needs your robe size, if you would Mr. Sparrowhawk." He was doing as she requested as she continued. "I shall have you sorted before the start of term, jut so we will not make the House Elves suppers go cold on your account, and so that you shall not be embarrassed any further. Now" He was now writing down the size stated on the hem of his deep, dark blue robes, which he was wearing over Muggle clothing, as she finished her statement, "If you would follow me, Mr. Sparrowhawk."


	2. Houses and Trains

A Second Chance

Chapter Two- Houses and Trains

By Kalison A.

--

Disclaimer- I do not own this story, all I own is the plot and what may happen to the characters of JK Rowling.

--

Tobias quickly followed Professor McGonagall, as they headed for her office. Seeing as it was a couple days before start of term, the only person they saw were the occasional teacher, mumbling to themselves about spells to teach, the ghosts, and an irate caretaker, for Peeves had taken advantage of the emptiness of the halls to pull as many pranks as possible.

They reached the gargoyle on the third floor without incident, for the successfully evaded Peeves, who was occupied with making a horrible mess down in the dungeons. She muttered the password to the gargoyle, which opened to allow them to enter. He entered the office, and looked around, expecting it to look as bland as her old office. Much his surprise, very little had changed. There was a new portrait, currently empty, on the wall and Fawkes was missing. The old comfortable chairs had been exchanged with straight, hard-backed chairs.

She gestured for him to take a seat as she got the Hat. Tobias followed her instruction, sitting nervously on the edge. He remembered his first Sorting, how the Hat told him that he has the potential for great good, as he begged it place him in Slytherin. McGonagall placed the Hat on his head, which fell down to fit nicely on his brow, barely hanging over his ears.

The Hat whispered to him, in his ear, " You seem very familiar, yes indeed... hm, a great span of knowledge, courage to do what you must for your good, that of others. You have very little loyalty, but I believe that may change... I believe that you that the House in which you'll benefit most is...," Tobias held his breathe. "Gryffindor!" the Hat announced aloud.

Tobias had to fight with his mixed emotions, till that of which resembled a smile came through. He removed the Hat from his head, and handed it to McGonagall, who was smiling thinly.

"Your Head of House would have been me, if you came last year, but as it is, he will be Professor Ugen-werst. He is the new Defense Against Teacher this year. If will hand me that slip of paper with your robe, shirt, sweater, and pant sizes on it, I will have them sent to Hagrid." He complied with her request, quickly jotting down house on the paper, while McGonagall called for her tawny owl, which glided in. She attached it to the owl, then shooed it out the window. "You shall be staying in the Heads quarters, this year, for I've appointed you as Head Boy, due to your record, that of which is stated on the this letter." She then gave him the location, and the password, telling him that he will have to take the train from King's Cross just ike everybody else.

He had not slept well the night before, because he had reading over his Transfiguration textbook, so when he arrived at the station, he quickly got on the train, and claimed a compartment near the back. he then hurried up to the meeting between the Heads and Prefects, due to start earlier then the previous years.

He got up there to discover that he was nearly late. He took his seat near the Head Girl, who was rather pretty, in his opinion. She had wavy brown hair, with a little red in the mix, pulled back to sit under a rather plain lion clip. Her eyes were a brown that hinted at greener tone. Her posture was perfect and she quirked and eyebrow at him as apologized to the whole compartment for being late.

She stood up and began to speak, "Welcome back. I am Hermione Granger," He nearly dropped his mouth in shock, for her appearance was not as he remembered. "And this is my counter part, Tobias Sparrowhawk. We are your Heads this year. I expect you accord him the same respect that you would any other older student, even if he is a transfer. McGonagall wishes me to inform you that there will be extra security measures this year. They include, but don't end at, more teachers out in the hallways at night, and, as she put it, Sentry Shifts. You will all be assigned a time, in two hour blocks, in which you, and another prefect, pairs will be rotational, will patrol the hallways. If you will come here according to house, I will give out passwords. That is all, and I shall be expecting you to patrol the corridors periodically, without being told."

After they had all departed, he got to take a swift peek at the password list, before he had to excuse himself from the compartment, so that he could get to the other side of the train so that could be down there before he collapsed of exhaustion. He did not make it.


	3. Coming To

A Second Chance

Chapter Three- Coming To

By Kalison A.

--

Disclaimer- I do not own this story, all I own is the plot and what may happen to the characters of JK Rowling.

--

"Harry, yes I know that you are not very happy about the fact that I've just had you and Ron help to drag this guy into our compartment, but we couldn't very well leave him in the walkway." He was coming round to hear Granger admonishing her friends.

He managed to croak out, " Well, I do thank you for it."

The compartment went silent, as all the people in it, turned their attention to him.

"See Ron, he didn't die after all," said a happy Ginny. She held out her hand, "And now you owe me two sickles."

"What? I was kidding I really didn't mean it."

Tobias was smiling hesitantly at this, attempting to control the hatred that he had previously felt for all the people in the room.

He noticed that he happened to be in the same compartment that he had stashed his trunk. He decided to play dumb and ask who the other people in the compartment were.

"I am Tobias Sparrowhawk, recently been sorted into Gryffindor. And the rest of you are?"

The boy with the emerald green eyes, with recently cut jet black hair, replied, "I am Harry Potter. Welcome to Gryffindor house, mate."

One of the red heads, the boy with blue eyes and too many freckles, "Ron Weasley. This my..." He was cut off by the female with brown eyes.

"Rooonnn! I can introduce myself," she told him of, punching him on the arm. She now turned to Tobias, who was trying to control laughter. "I am Ginny, this git's sister."

The bucktoothed boy with the brown hair mumbled, "I am Neville Longbottom."

"Well, nice to meet you all. So since I'm new," _not really, _he thought, "give me the scoop on the teachers."

"Well, there is Professor Sprout, who is Head of Hufflepuff, and she teaches Herbology," Hermione started.

"Hands on." interjected Neville.

"Professor Binns," continued Hermione.

"He's a ghost," Ron stated.

"And he teaches History of Magic," Hermione continued, as if uninterrupted.

"Really boring." Ginny added.

"Then there is Professor Trelawney, who teaches Divination,"

"She predictes my death whenever she can!" Harry said, to the laughter of Ron.

"Professor Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures,"

"Really nice, though he likes really dangerous creatures and tries to convince us that they are harmless." Neville added, shuddering.

"There is also Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, and he teaches Charms,"

"Really nice." finished Ginny.

"This year, however there will be new Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Potions. There will also be newly appointed Heads for Slytherin and Gryffindor. Oh, and the Headmistress, McGonagall,"

"Can be rather strict, but appreciates a good joke," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Well, I can tell you the Name of the new Gryffindor Head, and Defence teacher. Professor Samuel Ugen-werst. I heard tell of the Transfiguration being a woman named Symantha Reid. I heard nothing of Potions or Slytherin Head." Hermione finished with her briefing.

They sat in silence mostly, punctuated by Ron's snores. The candy cart arrived not to very long after. Harry bought a ton of candy and shared it through out the compartment. Suddenly, as they were laughing at Ron, who had gotten a really bad bunch of beans, containing horseradish, spinach, pepper, and earwax; somebody flung open the compartment door. There standing in the door way was three boys.

Harry growled at the center one, "What do you want Malfoy?"

"To give you a word of warning, you, Mudblood, Weasel, Weaselette, Longbottom, and ... who are you?"

"I am a transfer from Ireland. I am Tobias Sparrowhawk, and I assume that you are Draco Malfoy and that those two still in the hallway are Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. So, just out of curiosity, how badly were you punished when the Dark Lord discovered your failure? Did you have to watch your parents die? Or have you been given a second chance, how very few those are?"

Malfoy was now backing out of the compartment as Tobias advanced, glaring, mouth barely moving as he spoke, and seeming to tower over him, though he was only a few inches taller than him.

"So who do you have to kill now, huh? McGonagall? Ginny? Harry? Hermione? Ron?" Malfoy took a chance and made a run for it.

Tobias, now somewhat satisfied, for that boy had always been a thorn in his backside, walked back to his sit and sat down. The others were all staring at him, mouths agape.

"Are you all trying to catch flies?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Mate, you just did a perfect imitation of our old potions master and one time Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I mean it was a perfect imitation of Snape. Did you ever meet him?" Ron asked.

"No, but I had heard tell of him. What is it Hermione?"

"How did you know their names, I mean I don't recall us telling them to you. I didn't even know Goyle and Crabbe's first names?"

"You can thank their friends down the hall," he lied, like as if he does it every day. "Any other questions? If not then lets get changed."

"One last question, you referred to Voldemort as the Dark Lord and knew Malfoy to be a Death Eater. Why and how?" Harry queried.

_'__Merlin, how can these three be so observant!' _"The reason that I called him the Dark Lord is because I was angry and the things that I was taught when I was younger sliped from my mouth. Can we get dressed now," He said peeved.

--

They arrived at Hogwarts without further incident.


	4. The Thoughts of Tobe

A Second Chance

Chapter 4- The Thoughts of Tobe

By Sevardan Cailo

--

Disclaimer- only the made up characters and the plot are mine, JK, you can keep the rest, I only want to borrow it.

--

The first evening passed uneventful, for Hogwarts. The only incident was Peeves dumping a whole tub worth of paint in the Entrance Hall while everybody was eating dinner.

Tobias lay on his bed, reflecting upon his mistakes of the evening. He needs to get just a little bit better control over his impulsiveness, for he had nearly given himself away too many times today. _Like that incident with Draco. Man, oh man, I am slipping. I need to build myself an alternate identity, one that is nothing like the 'me' that is no more. I need build myself a liar's house with false memories, ones that would hold under close scrutiny, and not give any clue to my being Severus Snape. Granted, Snape is part of who I am, but that cold front that I have held up for many years needs to be dropped. Alright, I need to get my story straight._

_I am the son of pianist and a seamstress, my father being a squib, and mother, a Muggle. I am their only child. Their names were Elaine and Emrys. I am from England, but I was sent to attend an Irish school because it was traditional that members of our family attend it. It was a small school, destroyed last year by a major fire. Unfortunately, my parents are dead as well; both were poisoned last year by an unknown person, whose motive is also unknown. I am a seventh year, and know much more because of the material covered in my old school. Because the school is smaller, it was easier for us to advance faster, and to cover more subjects._

_Starting tomorrow, I shall have a new attitude; I only hope that I can support it. Merlin, I only hated Potter because I could never show him any favoritism at all, in truth he is nothing like his father, he is rather like his mother. He always has space in his heart for a new potential friend, and is willing to help anyone who needs it, unless he has a reason not to. Granger, well, she used to be quite the nuisance, and she has grown into a fine young woman, hell, she even stood up for me, when she hardly knew who I was. Weasley, well, more like Weasleys, are as loyal as ever. Perhaps I could learn to trust them._

With that said, Tobe rolled over and drifted off.

--

_Alright, I know when you read this, but it makes me very sad to see all the readers but no reviews. It makes an author very sad to not know if her efforts are appreciated. So just drop me a review or ask me a question in my forums, or you can do both. :D Well, ta ta for now!_


	5. A New Day

A Second Chance

Chapter 5- A New Day

By Sevardan Cailo

--

Disclaimer- only the made up characters and the plot are mine, JK, you can keep the rest, I only want to borrow it.

--

Tobe woke up the next morning to the sound of birds greeting the rosy-fingered dawn. He cracked his eyes open, and smiled realizing what a small joy it is to be alive, to be free to make mistakes and to be around those who care for you, even if you are 'the new guy.' He climbed out of bed and approached the window watching the birds as they danced through the air. He watched for a few minutes, and then he looked at the clock. It was rather early, so he decided upon a shower.

--

Hermione woke up on a couch in the common room. She couldn't sleep and had decided to do some late night reading. It was a good book, and she really doubted that very many other people around here had read it, for it was a muggle novel. She ran her fingers over the glossy letters _The Silmarrion_. It was a book by a Muggle named JRR Tolkien, and her mother had found it a book store, thinking that perhaps she would like it.

She stretched her arms and rose to her feet, then ascended the stairs to the dormitory to get ready for the first day of classes.

--

Tobe finished tying his shoes and sat on his bed in the full, slumbering dormitory. He was deciding how to wake up his dorm-mates. He figured a bucket of ice cold water on Wea- _No, Ron._ He mentally corrected, should wake everybody up, and coupled with a time release spell for get-away time. He did a couple of quick calculations, and came up with the outcome that about three minutes should be enough to get him at least half-way to the Great Hall. He filled the bucket, and set it above Ron's sheet-covered head. Tobe picked up his bag and descended the stairs, setting the bucket to spill in three minutes.

He zipped down the stair, and came to a halt in the common room. Somebody had left their book in there. It looked interesting, so he snagged it, figuring that he would find the owner later. He vaulted out the portrait door and flew down the stairs, easily skipping the trick stairs. In fact, he made it all the way to the third floor when he felt the magic release the water. He smirked and slowed to a leisurely walk. He soon reached the Great Hall, and prepared his plate of food. He pulled out the book from the bag, and quickly read the back cover. He opened the book and read it swiftly as he ate his breakfast.

--

Hermione was mad. She wasn't angry; she was peeved to the extreme. Somebody, someone had taken her book. Not that she has a problem loaning books, but it was taken without permission, and she was positive that it was taken with malicious intent. She was pacing the Common Room, trying to decide the best way to retrieve her book… and to berate the thief. She decided up on _Accio_. Just as she was about to cast the spell, she heard an earsplitting shriek, coming from the boys dormitory. She wrinkled her brows, as Harry came down the stairs roaring with laughter. She raised one in askance and was answered with another fit of giggles.

Once his laughter subsided, Harry told Hermione what had happened, and Hermione joined in Harry's snickering. The two of them headed down to breakfast, for Ron was taking eons to get ready and clean up the mess.

--

Tobe finished both the book and his breakfast in record time. He replaced the book in his bag so that he could put it back later. He pulled out his schedule, noting that he had only two classes in the morning and one in the afternoon. He had a free period between his first two classes, in which he would slip back up to the Common Room and put the book back from where he had snagged it from. He was just putting the schedule away when Harry and Hermione arrived. He nodded in greeting, and then schooled his expression to one of confusion.

"What happened? Where's Ron?" Tobe asked.

That sent Harry into a renewed fit of laughter, as Hermione saw fit to answer, "From what I could actually understand of the words coming out of the mouth of this giggling buffoon, somebody decided to prank Ron this morning, he woke up to an ice cold bucket of water being dumped on his face. He shrieked rather loudly, and then the mess won't be _Scorigify_-ied, so he has to mop it up by hand! He was not very happy about that either. But other than that, it was a nice piece of spell work, and an overall nice prank, if I do say so myself. Hey, by the way, have you seen my book, I…"

Hermione was interrupted by the owl post, who saw fit to come screeching in and drop off letters, and forgotten item packages, to many students around the Great Hall. A small, brown package was dropped in front of Hermione, and it was vaguely book shaped. She tore it open and found package with a ribbon tied around it, as well as her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ and a letter from her mom. She placed both in her bag, and was about to ask her question again when an absolutely furious, and highly disheveled looking Ron came in.

Harry glanced at his watch, "Ron, load up a napkin, you are not going to have enough to sit down and eat, and we are due in Flitwick's class in five minutes." Ron nodded, and swiftly followed Harry's advice.

--

The rest of day passed rather smoothly, considering the slight difficulty of not correcting the Potions professor, and of not taunting McGonagall, like he did in the past. He had managed to place the book back where he got it, and was pretty sure of two things about the book. That it is Hermione's and that she is most likely going to blow up at the person who took it, so he left an anonymous note with the book apologizing.

The four of them had just finished dinner, and were heading up to the common room. Tobe parted ways at the library, saying that he was going to go there to peruse the books and finish his homework. Ron and Harry were bored and decided to fly out the dormitory window and zip around on their brooms for a bit. Hermione found her book and found the note with its spiky, yet elegant calligraphy that struck here as somewhat familiar. And somewhere, a Lord was getting angry that his spy had gone missing and was apparently 'dead,' and is plotting his

--

_I think this is my longest chapter yet (woot, go me! :D) Thank you to all of you who sent me those encouraging reviews, they really helped! Well, I guess that I'll see you all next chapter, thanks again!_


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